[April 5, 2023] Betrayal is an evil more profound than any human behavior we can imagine. In Dante’s Inferno, sins like torture, murder, and rape were not at the bottom of the pit (nine circles of hell); it was betrayal. The ultimate betrayal is the subject of my article today. On March 13, 1973, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant… Read More »
[March 26, 2023] I saw the movie, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as a young kid in a small southern town after being dropped off with my brother. My mom’s instructions were, “go see a movie while I go grocery shopping.” The movie was a real shock, and I never forgot it. There are two remakes,… Read More »
[March 21, 2023] In a Washington D.C. Friday news dump, the Veterans Administration announced the removal of their 64-year-old motto, a quote by President Abraham Lincoln. Ostensibly, the quote is so offensive that the VA could no longer tolerate the intolerance. Let’s be honest; the VA has officially gone full Woke. Here is the quote the VA leadership… Read More »
[March 13, 2023] My life was about to become more difficult and complex, or so I thought. As a senior Captain, I had been given command of saving a broken U.S. Army company with the singular mission to “fix it.” Unbeknown to me, my life would get much simpler in a good way and much less anxiety provoking. … Read More »
[February 23, 2023] I couldn’t pass this bit of humor up. Poor Meghan Markle. Duchess of Sussex, a British royal family member, television star, rich and famous and privileged, is said to have refused to watch an episode of South Park that mocked her and her husband. We are told she is “upset and overwhelmed” about how she… Read More »
[February 20, 2023] In the search for the highest values we possess, it is best to begin with those that have been part of our history and have been most helpful in making us who we are. Today, I’ll list the values of the Judeo-Christian tradition as laid out by Dennis Prager (link here). “Traditionally, religious Protestants, Catholics,… Read More »
[February 16, 2023] During my first combat tour in Iraq, I had two photos. One of my children, nicely framed and sitting where I could see them every day. And a second of a motivational poster starring Jane Fonda sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun surrounded by NVA soldiers. The poster read, “Treason. Yes, it was –… Read More »
[February 14, 2023] Love. Are the origins of Valentine’s Day a story of love? Is it a myth? Is it even true? Followers of St. Valentine understand that we will never know the origins, yet that is not important. What the origins tell us is the recognition of heroism in the classic sense. It’s the story of doing… Read More »
[February 4, 2023] Sebastian Junger answers a question that has chased me for many decades. He gave a TED Talk (link here, 12:55 minutes) to explain. Junger believes he knows why soldiers miss war. A few years ago, on my blog, I tried to answer a similar question a high school student asked: “Do you miss war?” I… Read More »
[February 1, 2023] Shortly after retiring from the U.S. Army, I wrote a three-part series (see them below) on American Core values. I recently wondered to myself if these 10 values hold true or maybe I would write a better explanation of each. Here is quick list of the 10 American values I identified: Liberty and Freedom Equality… Read More »